No Shade of Green

Non Envious and friend to all. How does one become that? I was trying to comprehend this very difficult truth. The truth became less complex as i was listening to a class in honor of Jayananda Prabhu's disappearance day. As HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaj discussed the qualities of Jayananda Prabhu, these were some of the things that stood out in my mind.

He was a friend to everyone, engaging everyone in the service of Lord Jagannatha in a very genuinely loving way. He was a powerful preacher and was even more adept at setting examples by his loving and humble behavior. He loved stealing and feeding devotees Mahaprasadam of the Lord at any time of the day or night. He was fully surrenderd to Srila Prabhupada, was fearless and hard working. He dealt with praise in a very expert manner. He highly disliked, gossip and criticism of other devotees. But above all these he was a keen chanter of the holy names and considered it the crux of all other Krishna conscious activities. He could sit for hours together and chant the holy names with great relish. He felt that chanting was only thing constant in the life of a devotee. At first it seemed like a long list of things to do to be a friend to everyone, but no, in fact there is only one trick and the hardest one to achieve and become non envious.

The root of all causes is chanting the holy names of the Lord in a humble state of mind. Then, when the heart is cleared of all contaminants one can become advesta sarva-bhutanam, a friend of all living creatures. He was being compared to Srila Haridas Thakura and i felt so fortunate that we were exposed by way of books and talks to such a wonderful icon of humility in the present day. Meditating on the qualities of saintly persons is said to imbue us with some of their qualities as well. So, i place my heartfelt prayers at the lotus feet of this modern day saint.All Glories to Sri Jayananda Thakura.

Merciful Sidelong Glance

Yersterday was Ekadasi, the day of Lord Hari. I decided to go Nirjal, after hearing from a class by Mahanidhi Maharaj, that one can follow the fast and then give away the merits to someone who is ailing or troubled. So, though i myself am an impoverished needy soul, yearning for that sidelong glance of mercy, i prayed that the merits of my fasting be passed on to two souls who are in need of a boost in their spiritual life. Talking about mercy and coincidences, how often i have heard that there are no coincidences in Krishna consciousness. Yesterday i understood that it is so true.Because of this sankalpa that i made of passing the merits to others in need in the morning, while i was hearing another class by HH Mahanidhi Swami again, only this time in the night, i chanced (or was it planned) on his glorification of the Radha Kripa Kataksha Stuti. He was repeatedly mentioning the Phala Sruti or the benefits of reciting Radha Sahasranama and the the Radha Kripa Kataksha stava Raja prayer on certain days. One of those happened to be ekadasi. I realized that even a faulty little endeavor from a person so full of ego goes a long way. Krishna does take ten steps towards you and here was Guru revealing more than one way to get benedictions for austerities.In pursuit of that bhakti that the self realized hanker after, here is the Phala Sruti:
The aspirant who recites this hymn on the full-moon day, on the eighth day of the waxing moon, and on the tenth, eleventh and thirteenth days of the waxing and waning moons, achieves the fruition of his desires and, by the grace of Sri Radhika´s compassionate sidelong glance, bhakti characterized by prema sprouts in his heart.
Do you think i wasted any time then, in reciting this stuti?
Here it is in full http://saranagati.net/index.php?S=3&Article=70

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Hare Krishna,
Everyday we hear so many things but how much do we retain from it. Writing it down is said to make a longer, lasting impression on our minds. Purity in hearing can be attributed to purity in thoughts and eventually purity in actions. Writing down what we hear makes us retrieve the information when the circumstance demands an appropriate action. it makes us introspect and act in a way pleasing to Guru and Kishna. This is my attempt to have a place where i can share my thoughts and realizations of impressions that words of great souls have made on my mind. In this journey i envision growing as a more wholesome person where my thoughts will always match my actions. I pray to Srimati Radharani and the Guru Parampara to please bless me in this endeavor.